Star Trek celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this month. So, here on Redeeming Culture, we’re going to release a short review of every episode of Season One, one episode per day, all month long; for each episode, we’re writing a 3-sentence recap, a 3-word review, and (as much as we can) answering the questions “What fears or hopes are conquered or realized?” and “How does this point to Jesus or to the way God made us?”

For more about Trektember, read our preview post.  Please note that there are minor plot spoilers for this episode below.

Today’s episode is number 10: Dagger of the Mind.

Three-sentence Recap

The Enterprise transfers some supplies to a prison known as “Tantalus,” but unwittingly takes aboard a stowaway.  Once captured, the prisoner is revealed to be an insane former staff member.  But Dr. McCoy doesn’t believe the prison administrator’s story about the man, and Kirk beams down to get to the bottom of things.

Three-word Review

Silly, but engaging.

Big Sci-Fi Concepts

• The treatment of prisoners in an “enlightened world” is an interesting concept; the idea that “caging” criminals is something we won’t look back on fondly in the future.
• What happens to the mind of the mind-controlled man?

Fears Conquered/Hopes Realized

• Kirk faces the fear of losing his mind, conquering it by shaking off its effects shockingly quickly.
• Both Kirk and Noel must face the fear of being trapped in a place with a madman, a place where the madman holds the cards.

What does this episode tell us about God or about man?

The world you live in is run by a madman.  A madman who doesn’t care about your life or long-term joy.  A madman who demands you do crazy things, and forces you to forget even the most crucial facts.

This madman is inescapable.  There’s no way out.   The world he runs is a prison, tailor-made just for you.  And he’s not about to let you go anytime soon.

He changes your memory.  Makes you forget.  Makes you remember things that should always be foremost in your mind.

The worst part?  The madman is you.

The Bible says that the heart is a liar.  It’ll tell you anything to get what it wants; cut you off from your friends and support, turn you into a carbon copy of the other kids, even change your memory.

Don’t listen to it.

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Thank you for reading Redeeming Culture! Come back tomorrow for more Trektember as we look at episode 11 of Star Trek: “Miri”.